mule en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- myo͞ol
- /mjuːl/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
- /mjuwəɫ/ (Northern-Ireland, Scotland)
- /mjuːəl/ (Northern-Ireland, Scotland)
- /mjʉl/ (Northern-Ireland, Scotland)
- /mjuːəl/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
- audio AuE
- /mjuːl/
Etymology
Etymology tree substratebor.? Proto-Italic *musklos? Latin mūlus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂ Proto-Italic *-ā Latin -a Latin mūla Anglo-Norman mulebor. ▲ Latin mūlusbor. Proto-West Germanic *mūl Old English mūl Middle English mule English mule Inherited from Middle English mule, from Anglo-Norman mule (“she-mule”) and Old English mūl, both ultimately from Latin mūlus, from Proto-Indo-European *mukslós. Compare Late Latin muscellus (“young he-mule”), Old East Slavic мъшкъ (mŭškŭ, “mule”), Ancient Greek (Phocian) μυχλός (mukhlós, “he-ass”), and German Maul Maultier, Maulesel (through Latin).
Meanings
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The generally sterile male or female hybrid offspring of a male donkey and a female horse.
One day he ran into a herd of a half dozen elk, so he rode his mule down the canyon three or four miles, leaving the sheep alone.
2017, Robert S. McPherson, Cowboying In Canyon Country, Dog Ear Publishing, →ISBN, page 200:
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The generally sterile hybrid offspring of any two species of animals.
It would be exceedingly interesting to know if the hybrid would reproduce, a matter I deem exceedingly doubtful, for the chances are it would prove a "mule" (infertile).
1922, Onnie Warren Smith, The Book of the Pike, page 187:
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(archaic) A hybrid plant.
Vegetable mules supply an irrefragable argument in favour of the sexual system of botany.
1789, Erasmus Darwin, The Loves of the Plants, J. Johnson, page 149:The most extraordinary mule, however, that is asserted to have been produced on the Continent, is a cross between the cabbage and horse-radish, which Monsieur Sageret reports that he has obtained […]
1837, William Herbert, Amaryllidaceæ: Preceded by an Attempt to Arrange the Monocotyledonous Orders, and Followed by a Treatise on Cross-bred Vegetables, and Supplement, page 353:
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(informal) A stubborn person.
"Where in the hell do you think I learned to be such a mule?”
2005, Dorothea Benton Frank, Isle of Palms, Penguin, →ISBN:
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(slang) A person paid to smuggle drugs.
“Yeah, in Denver, we know about Uriarte's involvement in meth. Our Las Cruces office seized over six hundred pounds of methamphetamine from two of his mules last year.”
2007, Thomas G. Blacklock, Safe Zone: A Novel Approach to the Drug War, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 44:Cocaine packet ingestion (these patients referred to as “mules”) may warrant surgery, Golytely or expectant passage.
2006, “Gastroenterology: Esophageal Foreign Bodies”, in Steven E. Diaz, The Little Black Book of Emergency Medicine (Jones and Bartlett's Little Black Book Series), 2nd edition, Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, →ISBN, page 101:
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A coin or medal minted with obverse and reverse designs not normally seen on the same piece, either intentionally or in error.
What is less clear, however, is why mint workers should have chosen to produce mules, if they were making forgeries […]
1988, Andrew Burnett, The Normanby hoard and other Roman coin hoards, British Museum Publications:
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(qualifier:roleplaying games) A MMORPG character, or NPC companion in a tabletop RPG, used mainly to store extra inventory for the owner's primary character.
He was in the middle of organizing his massive stash of rare and exquisite bounty, all kept safely in the inventory cache of a mule, an entirely separate character which he paid a monthly fee to maintain exclusively for that purpose.
2007, David L. McClard, Verotopia Online: The MMORPG of the Century, Xlibris, →ISBN, page 89:
- Any of a group of cocktails involving ginger ale or ginger beer, citrus juice, and various liquors.
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A kind of triangular sail for a yacht.
In heavier seas where a boat must sail a course dictated by waves, or where wave action makes power more important than pointing, the mule will prove the faster sail.
1974, Yachting, volume 135, page 60:
- A kind of cotton-spinning machine.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| mules | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Moscow mule · mule kick · muleload · mule-litter · mule spinner's cancer · muleman · smile like a mule eating briars · Muleshoe · muleskin · mule fat · mulelike · money mule · hung like a mule · HM mule · zebra mule · mule fern · mule deer · mule litter · Missouri mule · muleback · muleless · mule skinner · zebrule · mulish · muling · muleskinner · mulelitter · mule stubborn · Morgan's mule · mule twist · work like a mule · mule train · muleteer · mule-stubborn · kick like a mule · stubborn as a mule · mule bell · mule killer · test mule · credit mule · spinning mule · mule pulley · development mule · mule spinners' cancer · mule armadillo · grin like a mule eating briars
Descendants
Relateds
Synonyms
Missouri canary (sterile hybrid of donkey and horse) · drug mule · mule · donkey · bulldog
Translations (180)
km លា (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · dz དྲེལ (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ro mul (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ca mula (person paid to smuggle drugs) · is múlasni (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · sid gaango (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · wal baluquwa (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · hu öszvér (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · uk мул (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · gl mulo (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ca mul (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · mnc ᠯᠣᠰᠠ (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · is múldýr (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · wo berkelle bi (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · cmn 馬騾 /马骡 (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · hu öszvér (person paid to smuggle drugs) · bo དྲེལ (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · gl macho (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · sei ʔɑmóːrɑ (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ky качыр (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ga iompróir drugaí (person paid to smuggle drugs) · scn mulu (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · oj memāngišens (memāngišens) (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · fi risteytys (hybrid offspring of any two species of animals) · ast mulu (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · he פִּרְדָּה (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · da muldyr (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · it spallone (person paid to smuggle drugs) · cmn 騾子 /骡子 (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · fi muuli (numismatics: coin or medal minted with designs not normally seen on the same piece) · bg мюл (type of cocktail) · tl mula (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · fi muuli (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · es mulo (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · vi la (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · twf mùloʼóna (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · fi muuli (person paid to smuggle drugs) · dsb mula (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · roa-opt muleta (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ru верблю́д (person paid to smuggle drugs) · kmr hêstir (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ja ミュール (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · th ล่อ (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · fr mulet (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · fi muuli (type of cocktail) · id bagal (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · lo ລໍ (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · fr mule (person paid to smuggle drugs) · ckb ھێستر (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · bn খচ্চর (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · sw nyumbu (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ug خېچىر (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · sl mula (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ko 노새 (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · es acémila (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · kmr qantir (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ga miúil (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · la mūlus (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · es mula (person paid to smuggle drugs) · ps کچره (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ca matxo (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · nv dzaanééz (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · lo ລວາ (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ru мул (person paid to smuggle drugs) · ta கோவேறுகழுதை (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · de Muli (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · grc ὀρεύς (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · pl muł (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · wa moulet (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · am በቅሎ (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · wa moule (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · bg муле (person paid to smuggle drugs) · shn လႃး (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · mn луус (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · haw hoki (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · sh мула (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ru мул (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · agj በቅሎ (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · my လား (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · enm mule (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · sv mula (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · be мул (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · hy ջորի (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · th ฬ่อ (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · eo mulo (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ang mūl (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ood muhla (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · sh mazga (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · grc ἡμίονος (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · io mulo (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · hu kábítószer-szállító (person paid to smuggle drugs) · el μουλάρι (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ckb ئێستر (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · bg му́ле (type of cocktail) · fi risteytys (hybrid plant) · cs mula (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · sh мазга (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ast burreña (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · et muul (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · nb muldyr (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · uga 𐎔𐎗𐎄 (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · fi risteymä (hybrid plant) · gl mula (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · om gaangee (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · hi खच्चर (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · it mulo (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · he פֶּרֶד (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · an mula (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · te కంచరగాడిద (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · mk му́ле (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · tqw moːlʌˀɑːlʌk (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · fi kehruumuuli (type of cotton-spinning machine) · pa ਖੱਚਰ (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · lt mulas (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · rif aserdun (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · mi miūra (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · vo mulud (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · haw miula (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · nn muldyr (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · cmn 毒品攜帶者 /毒品携带者 (person paid to smuggle drugs) · pt mula (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · sw baghala (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · lv mūlis (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · tt качыр (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · es mula (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ar بَغَل (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ka ჯორი (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ota اشك (stubborn person) · fi jääräpää (stubborn person) · ur خچر (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ja 騾馬 (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · az qatır (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · chr ᏗᎦᎵᏰᏅᎯᏓ (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · roa-opt mua (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · uz xachir (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · sh mula (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · sva ჰუ̈ლ (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · fa قاطر (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · tk gatyr (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · nl muildier (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · bg муле (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · akz hakchobaski (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · sq mushkë (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · mi miūru (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · sv mulåsna (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ja ラバ (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ro catâr (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · es burro (person paid to smuggle drugs) · ary بغل (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ca mula (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ast mula (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · cop ⲙⲁⲥⲫⲟⲣⲕ (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · de Maultier (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · gu ખચ્ચર (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · tr katır (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · cop ⲧⲉⲙⲑⲁⲙ (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · kk қашыр (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · fi muuli (role games: MMORPG character, or NPC companion) · sk mul (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · bg мага́ре (stubborn person) · fi risteymä (hybrid offspring of any two species of animals) · mt bagħal (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · mnc ᠯᠣᡵᡳᠨ (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ast burreñu (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · arz بغل (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · ms baghal (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · or ଖଚ୍ଚର (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · tg хачир (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · pt mula (person paid to smuggle drugs) · sei moːrɑ (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · gez በቅል (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · eu mando (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · oc mul (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · el ημίονος (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · cy mul (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · vec mus (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · mi muera (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · dsb mul (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · fr mule (offspring of male donkey and female horse) · pt mulo (offspring of male donkey and female horse)